Somalia: Creating Space for Fresh Approaches to Peacebuilding

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jessica brandwein 56 Table 1. Percentage of all Somalia-related articles that fit each frame Frame New York Times Allafrica.Com Terrorism/Al-Qaeda 45% 16% Humanitarian crises 18% 14% Civil war 16% 11% Peacekeeping 15% 12% Warlords 13% 8% Piracy 8% 5% Natural disasters 8% 8% Peace talks/Agreements 6% 13% Islamic insurgency 4% 2% Local initiatives
impact of international media in somalia when discussing Somalia, post 9/11, was a hindrance to both international and local peacebuilding initiatives. For example, on average, 60 percent of the NYT articles that mentioned al-Shabaab, also referred to terrorism or terrorists in the same article. This seems to have followed the decision by the US government to label al-Shabaab a terrorist organization, as opposed to shaping US policy towards the group. By equating al-Shabaab with the terrorist group al-Qaeda, the US in particular closed the door on engagement with those groups, and paved the way for a military intervention that would target al-Shabaab in 2007. Interestingly, during the periods of time when the NYT used the terrorist frame most heavily, they were also more likely to decrease their references to the humanitarian crisis aspect of the conflict. In downplaying the human suffering that was occurring in Somalia, and instead replacing it by the threat of western suffering at the hands of Somali terrorists, the NYT supported and justified the US government’s strategies of military intervention and non-engagement to its readers. The dearth of articles that reflect local initiatives or human interest stories within the NYT could also be a source of trouble for peacebuilders. A cursory look at two months (March-April 2011) worth of articles on Somalia in the NYT brought up just one “local” story, an editorial about a woman who had died due to lack of adequate access to contraceptives. 17 The only piece of “good” news was that Somali pirates had released a few prisoners. 18 The failure to portray a situation where local communities are willing and able to work for peace, as opposed to depicting Somalis as victims of war, violence and famine, discourages international engagement with and support of those local groups who are promoting peace at the grassroots level. In general, the sources from allAfrica.com also focused predominantly on upper levels of conflict, as opposed to lower level community peace initiatives and human interest stories. However, they were more likely to feature these types of stories than their Western counterparts. For example, within the last sixty days of Somalia articles, there were several that celebrated the accomplishment of the Shabelle Media Network, a local radio station in Mogadishu that has continued its independent reporting throughout the last nine years of the conflict. 19 There were also brief discussions within a few articles of the stability in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland 20 and the limited gains the transitional government has made in recent months. 21 Largely though, the focus on pessimistic aspects of the conflict is as prevalent in the African sources as it is in the Western ones. It is thus perhaps not surprising that with the African press failing to cover positive or local aspects of the Somali situation, the Western press has also neglected to do so. In terms of peace versus war journalism, the media coverage from both sources is clearly more prone to war than peace journalism, particularly in their recent coverage of the insurgent group al-Shabaab. Peace journalism suggests that warring groups should not be villainized in order to allow space for conflict transformation, especially if they are a key actor as is the case with al-Shabaab. On average, this is not occurring within the media’s portrayal of al-Shabaab. As mentioned above, a majority of the NYT articles that write about al-Shabaab do 17 Kristof, Nicholas, “Mothers We Could Save”, The New York Times, 7 May 2011. 18 Ibrahim, Mohammed, “Somali Pirates Release Some Prisoners”, The New York Times, 16 April 2011. 19 “Parliament Congratulates Shabelle On Its Accomplishment,” and “Shabelle Media Network Celebrated Its Nineth Anniversary”, Shabelle Media Network; allAfrica. com, 9 May 2011. 20 “Puntland President Visits Bosaso”, Garowe Online, allAfrica. com, 4 May 2011. 21 “The Country Urgently Needs Help of Global Partners to Consolidate Gains”, UN News Service, allAfrica.com, 4 May 2011.§ 57
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Somalia Life & Peace institute / kr
Page 4 and 5:
Views expressed in this publication
Page 6 and 7:
table of contents 4 7 20 28 33 43 5
Page 8 and 9: foreword 6 These challenges, but al
Page 10 and 11: john paul lederach 2 An emerging an
Page 12 and 13: john paul lederach 10 ings results
Page 14 and 15: john paul lederach 12 local and wid
Page 16 and 17: john paul lederach 8 This literatur
Page 18 and 19: john paul lederach 13 See in partic
Page 20 and 21: john paul lederach 18 Policy recomm
Page 22 and 23: yne clos 1 To access this history,
Page 24 and 25: yne clos 12 Ibid, p. 390. 13 Debra
Page 26 and 27: yne clos 26 For details on Al-Shaba
Page 28 and 29: yne clos 44 Marchal, “A Tentative
Page 30 and 31: douglas ansel 1 A succinct discussi
Page 32 and 33: douglas ansel 11 Wood, Competing fo
Page 34 and 35: douglas ansel 32 foreseeable future
Page 36 and 37: ashley lyn greene 2 Lewis, I.M., A
Page 38 and 39: ashley lyn greene 15 Kusow, A.M.,
Page 40 and 41: ashley lyn greene 38 Timeline: Cycl
Page 42 and 43: ashley lyn greene 27 Ibid., p. 39.
Page 44 and 45: ashley lyn greene 42 ment of a viab
Page 46 and 47: laura weis 4 Menkhaus (1997), pp. 1
Page 48 and 49: laura weis 23 Menkhaus (1997), p. 1
Page 50 and 51: laura weis 42 Ledearach, p. 47. 43
Page 52 and 53: laura weis 57 Gross, p. 34. 58 Conv
Page 54 and 55: jessica brandwein 52 Impact of inte
Page 56 and 57: jessica brandwein 9 Hammond, “Fra
Page 60 and 61: jessica brandwein 22 See ““You
Page 62 and 63: jessica brandwein 60 Percentage of
Page 64 and 65: shinkyu lee 1 See, for a succinct a
Page 66 and 67: shinkyu lee 11 Somali NCF, “Human
Page 68 and 69: shinkyu lee 24 The Life & Peace Ins
Page 70: Somalia CReAtinG SPACe FoR FReSh AP
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Somalia: Creating Space for Fresh Approaches to Peacebuilding

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